


Red Lotus Multishipping Week 2016

by Relmarrowny



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Abuse, F/F, F/M, Gen, Past Abuse, Trauma, possible OT4, takes place in my AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-10 13:44:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7847350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relmarrowny/pseuds/Relmarrowny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a sequel to my entry to Ming-Hua week Day 2, meeting.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to my entry to Ming-Hua week Day 2, meeting.

Her eyes opened to the morning light, and she rolled over on the couch, and then a sick feeling came over her as she became aware of where she was.

She was only supposed to rest for a few hours and then get out of that place. But glancing out the window and noticing how high up the sun was, the other two were surly awake. 

But the room she was currently empty and she had a straight shot for the door.

The bedroom door creaked open. Ming-Hua pulled her knees up to her chest and locked her eyes on the doorway. There was no water nearby leaving her vulnerable, but maybe if she just played along with whatever they told her, she'd find an opportunity to slip away.

P’Li walked out rubbing her eyes and then yawned. Ming-Hua felt her face get a little warm. The girl was very beautiful and didn't speak much, which made her all the more appealing. 

She stifled a groan and brushed those thoughts away. She had to get away from the girl, not sit and admire her.

P’Li glanced at Ming-Hua and then, to the waterbender's surprise, she turned and walked towards the entrance.

Ming-Hua frowned, having expected some fake kindness that she and Zaheer would have scripted. But P'Li pretty much ignored her, and for whatever reason it pissed her off. 

“Um hey…” Ming-Hua called out to her. “What do you two want with me?”

P’Li stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “Nothing.” Her head turned back and she continued on her way.

“Nothing? Really?” She lowered her eyes, hoping to intimidate P’Li if they made eye contact again.

P’Li stopped right at the door and once again and turned, looking slightly annoyed, and the piercing look from her crimson eyes was enough to make Ming-Hua shrink up.

“Yeah nothing. You can leave anytime you want… or you can stay.”

She opened the door and walked out closing it behind her, not giving Ming-Hua a chance to respond.

The waterbender relaxed and then groaned, unsure of what just happened. But it would be easy to leave right then and there, especially if P’Li were telling the truth. 

She looked down at the over sized shirt she was wearing and then her stomach growled. She sighed, remembering her meal from the previous night and thinking that it would almost be worth it to risk whatever they truly had planned for her as opposed to going back to living outside. 

And though she barely knew her and still had her suspicions, P'Li did intrigue her and those crimson eyes...

She slammed her feet to the ground and scoffed, feeling her face get red. But still... a few more hours probably wouldn't hurt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have a part three planned... we'll see if I can work it in this week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did tethered for day 2 even though it was a day one theme.

She watched Ghazan as he practiced the new waterbending technique she taught him. The lava rose up behind him and above his head and he grinned at her, losing focus as it cascaded forward.

Ming-Hua felt herself go cold and before Ghazan even noticed what was happening, Ming-Hua jumped up and ran to him frantically pulling up water from the pond and froze it as it hit the lava just before it touched Ghazan. It was near impossible to keep the ice from melting as the molten earth cooled, but as she did, Ghazan slowly ducked away, looking terrified once he realized he had almost burned himself to a crisp.

“What the hell were you doing!” Ming-Hua yelled if only to cover up the panic in her voice.

“Well… it just looked cool the way you did it.” Ghazan spoke quickly eying the now solidified earth.

“The way I did it? I can touch water and not kill myself!” She leaned in towards him and, despite being tiny, Ghazan backed up a few steps.

Ghazan took a deep breath and as if trying to cover his own fear, he grinned at her.

“Oh so you were worried about me?”

Ming-Hua blushed and wanted to smack him. Things would be so much easier if he were an ugly scrawny kid. But no, he had to be tall, muscular, and that damn smile. Worse yet, he was friendly towards her. Upon first meeting him she was sure he would be another arrogant asshole that wouldn’t give her the time of day and she could hate him for it.

But he was right, she was worried. Ever since she made friends with him, Zaheer and P’Li, she was always concerned about their safety. The thought of losing any of them was unbearable, so much that there were times she wished she could once again be on her own, not having to care for anyone but herself. But then she’d remember how lonely that was.

She sighed. “Let’s just try it again…” She glared at him. “And this time don’t do it as a waterbender.”

“Yes master.” He smiled at her again.

She scoffed as he turned around and started to melt the earth again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if I care for this one. But I headcanon that Ming-Hua's earthly tether would be all three of her friends (But she'd never outright let them know that) and losing any would be devastating to her. In fact had she and Ghazan lived at the end of season 3 (ok I still do refuse to accept their deaths and keep my headcanon that they are alive out there somewhere) That their relationship, friendship or romantic, would have been difficult and not the same as it was when they were with Zaheer and P'Li cause something would always be missing.
> 
> If she were to lose all of them, I don't see things ending well for her. Possibly going the way of Dark Willow from Buffy. (Without the world ending part) But would certainly be out for revenge as a way to avoid grief.
> 
> That or the other extreme of just completely shutting herself off to everything.


	3. Day 3: Reunion - P'heer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some P'heer. Take place in my fics universe... so if you haven't read that you'll be a bit lost.

She held the clump of cut hair noticing a few grey strands, then promptly dropped it in the waste basket. Then she looked in the mirror, finally not having to squint while in the light. P’Li stared at herself, having long forgotten what her face looked like. But she swore it had once been softer and that there were lines that weren’t there thirteen years ago. And that tattoo sat right in the center of her forehead, bringing back memories of her first captivity.

She stepped into the shower, having to duck under the shower head and almost gasping once the hot water touched her. P’Li stood, enjoying the warmth before washing herself.

Stepping out, she wrapped a towel around herself, and left the bathroom.

Zaheer smiled, and pat the spot next to him in the bed, inviting her to join.

She still wasn’t used to his grey hair. Hell when she arrived at the air ship she had expected him to look as he did thirteen years ago. But despite his appearance, he was the same philosophy poetry loving Zaheer, even if a little broken.

P’Li crawled into the bed and moved close to him, still unsure of how they should act, now being over a decade older. Time seemed like it stood still those years and she felt like she was still in her early twenties. But her sore back from having to duck and her greying hair told her otherwise.

Zaheer wrapped his arm around her and she recoiled, still not used to touch. But then relaxed and leaned into him, wrapping both her arms around him.

They bed they were in was large enough that Ming-Hua and Ghazan could have fit comfortably with them. Much different than the tiny bed they once shared where they had to snuggle close to fit.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed as they held each other, and her eyes welled up as it finally hit her how many years they had lost. But she took a deep breath brushing those thoughts aside and finally spoke.

“Do you think this is all a set up?” It all had to be too good to be true. The avatar and Hiroshi Sato’s daughter broke them all out of prison and took them to most luxurious house she had ever stepped foot in? The White Lotus had to be desperate for some information. But what could they want after all those years?

Zaheer shook his head. “No, this is all too elaborate for that. And I doubt they’d let all of us out… especially you.”

She almost laughed. Her being a combustionbender terrified many. So much that they felt a frozen prison wasn’t enough to hold her. She touched her neck where the frozen chain had once been. It still felt strange not to have it weighing her neck down.

They were both silent again. Zaheer ran his hand up her arm and down her back. Glancing at him, P’Li noticed he was staring at the ground and sensed something was wrong.

“What is it?” She asked.

Zaheer took a deep breath. “Did they treat you well?”

“As well as you could in that prison.” She scoffed.

He grabbed her hand and looked at her. “They didn’t-“

“No.” P’Li said realizing what he was getting at. “No one ever entered my cell… the door wasn’t allowed to be opened.” She had assumed that was the case for the others… yet thinking about it, there may have been one cell they had to walk into.

She eyed him. “What about you?”

Zaheer shrugged. “They came by once a day and dropped off rice. That’s the only time I saw the guards.” He sounded relieved as he spoke.

Zaheer had only described his prison to her, kept alone in the darkness for nearly the entire day. She was happy that he could escape to the spirit world and speak to others. She herself was someone who liked her me time, but the isolation was even too much for her.

“So what’s the plan?” She didn’t want to have to think about her prison. Those years were done and over. And now that they were all free there was still work to be done.

“Same as it was originally. Only, Korra has mastered the basic elements, so you and Ghazan will teach her lava and combustionbending.”

“Do we really have the time for that? I mean we lost thirteen years.” She thought of the people in the Earth Kingdom under the queen’s rule. If it hadn’t been for their failure down at the South Pole, that tyrant would have been gone years ago and the people would have had their freedom. It made her sick to think of all the lives that were surely lost during that time.

Zaheer sighed and looked at her, sadness in his eyes. “Ming-Hua and Ghazan could really use the rest… as well as you.” He squeezed her hand tighter. “Korra still has to master the avatar state… and combustion and lavabending would be good for her to learn… and I think it would be good for you to get to know her.”

P’Li laughed. “You know she’s afraid of me.” She honestly could careless what the avatar thought of her, just as long as she was on their side. With the avatar state mastered, they could just march into Ba Sing Sei and immediately remove the Queen with minimal bloodshed.

“Just give her time.” He kissed her on the cheek.

“Alright.” P’Li said only to humor him. She ran her fingers through his hair. Done with the serious talk. It had been thirteen years and she was finally back with the one person who loved her despite everything she had done in her life. Though maybe that wasn’t a fair statement, there were many things that she had yet to tell Ghazan and Ming-Hua.

But if they were going to wait to go to Ba Sing Sei, they certainly had time for a few things.

She placed a finger under his chin, guided it up, and pressed her lips against his. She felt warmth run through her as he kissed her back, wrapped his arms around her and slowly guided her down to the bed.

 Yeah there was still time for a few other things.


	4. Day 7: Family and Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I've had a few people as me for the cactus juice story. I'm not really funny enough to write it, but here's what happened after.

P’Li brought the cup to Ming-Hua’s lips, her other arm wrapped around the waterbender’s torso to help her keep steady. But Ming-Hua kept her lips shut tight.

“Come on you need to drink.” The desert sun beat down on them, and P’Li was in no mood for her defiance.

“My head hurts.” Ming-Hua groaned.

“We told you not to drink the cactus juice.” She scolded and then glanced over at Zaheer, frowning, seeing that he was still in the spirit world. He had been there for hours, and she really could have used his help minutes ago, when she was off chasing Ghazan and Ming-Hua, as they wandered around laughing and tripping over themselves, neither ever going in the same direction.

If she were an earthbender, she could have trapped them both in a pit, or as a waterbender, she could have made an ice wall. But her element was of no use in that situation, Ghazan and Ming-Hua would have happily walked through a ring of fire.

Ming-Hua finally took a sip.

“You know, I’m surprised, I never would have expected you to drink that stufff.”

Ming-Hua always refused any alcohol or other drugs offered. P’Li knew the thought of her losing control of herself and being left in a vulnerable state terrified her. She was also aware of Ming-Hua’s wariness of medication all due to her time spent in that hospital.

P’Li cringed and brushed them out of her mind.

“I was bored.”

P’Li rolled her eyes and glanced over at Ghazan. She had noticed a subtle change in Ming-Hua since he came to join them. Especially those smiles she’d try to hold back or those times P’Li caught her staring as he’d do his morning workout and her few attempts to try to appear cooler than she was.

“No… I think you were just trying to show off for someone.”

P’Li had her suspicions, but after Ming-Hua drank the cactus juice and the things she said… both about Ghazan and her, they were all confirmed. And she had never seen someone so conflicted over two people.

She wasn’t sure whether or not to talk to Ming-Hua, or if the waterbender would even remember. But now wasn’t the time, not when she was in pain. And she was certain that Ming-Hua would deny all of it.

P’Li would suggest that she take the third option. Zaheer would never pressure her to be exclusive to him and Ming-Hua certainly was an interesting person and someone P’Li sort of felt a kindred spirit to. She wouldn’t mind trying out a romantic relationship with her.

But now wasn’t the time to consider it. Two people were in need of her help.

 “Ghazan will need healing… he kept walking through the cactus plants.”

She eyed Ghazan again, paying particular attention to his bleeding throbbing feet. He was lying on his back breathing heavily with his shirt off, and looking at him, she’d understand why Ming-Hua would have a crush.

“Were we really that bad?”

“Well… things got much easier when you fell over and just laid there laughing.” P’Li said starting to smirk. As annoying as the two were, she had to admit that was kind of funny. “Other than that, yeah it really was that bad.”

Ming-Hua buried her head into her knees and P’Li got up to go help Ghazan. But then she saw Zaheer move.

“P’Li, you’ll never guess who I spoke to in the spirit world!” He had a big smile on his face, but P’Li didn’t want to hear of it.

She groaned, turned her back on him, and marched over to Ghazan.

“Hey… what’s wrong?”

She heard him get up and start to run after her. But she ignored him. He was going to have to make it up to her later.


End file.
